Special tag day today

October 20, 2009

Dear Sir,

We are writing this letter to inform you that the Amputee Association of Bermuda is happy to announce its second tag day to be held on October 23 and 24, 2009. We are asking the public to help in making this a success. The Amputee Association of Bermuda is a group comprised entirely of volunteers who either have a personal loss due to amputation or have family/friends with limb loss. There are support meetings held once a month (third Wednesday at 5 p.m.) at Dr. Ronald Lightbourne's office at 43 King Street, Hamilton.

We also have representatives from KEMH as part of our group including a Medical Social Worker and Occupational Therapist. As a group we provide support in the form of discussing/sharing our experiences, provide information and resources. As a member of the Amputee Coalition of America we have access to a wealth of information not easily available in Bermuda. This past June two members of the executive committee, myself, Mrs. Marian Askia and Ms. Dauphine Dickerson attended their annual conference in Atlanta with both of us training to become certified Peer Visitors and are available to anyone who needs a support visit (at home or in hospital).

We are in the process of developing a resource library where individuals can borrow magazines ("In Motion" from Amputee Coalition of America) and books written by, written about and having characters that are amputees an important part of the story. If you can help us on tag day contact individuals listed below.

Please support us any way you can: Marian Askia at 747-3471 or ampgrannybda@hotmail.com; Colleen English at colleen.english[[AT] or 239-1433 or 331-7423; or Dauphine Dickerson at dauphine.dickerson@gmail.com or 234-2591 or 537-0988.

MARIAN ASKIA

President

Amputee Association of Bermuda

Platinum to peanuts

October 21, 2009

Dear Sir,

The Globe and Mail is Canada's largest newspaper with an average daily circulation of about 295,000 on weekdays and 369,000 on weekends. It is distributed from coast to coast. Today we searched for the results of the PGA Shootout in Bermuda and could only find in very small print that day two of the event would be televised on TSN2 today. Fortunately our son-in-law can get this channel and has taped it – we can't and this is probably the case in a lot of Canadian homes. Like Bermuda you get what you pay for in television. And now we know Lucas Glover won the event via The Royal Gazette Breaking News. The point — we heard the world will be watching and reading about this big event. Really!

I think about 30,000 Canadians go to Bermuda each year but we don't know if they are visitors as the Department of Tourism have come up with their own way of counting arrivals. For the record, about 300,000 Canadians will visit Jamaica during this winter. We never see any Bermuda advertising in this newspaper but then again we don't get it every day. Yup! Baseball promotions have paid off – ask the management at Elbow Beach Hotel! Promises of Platinum have turned into Peanuts. The loss of hotel jobs just breaks the heart!

TOPPY AND SAUNDRA COWEN

Kelowna, British Columbia

For political maturity

October 19, 2009

Dear Sir,

May I express my personal regret at the loss of the Mid-Ocean News. I shall miss the scathing, often intellectually challenging, Opinions of Tim Hodgson with which I frequently disagreed but always read. If it is, in part a result of the Government's withdrawal of their ads, then I think it is has been a disservice to many Bermudians. I am probably a minority in terms of those who hold my political views but the loss of any intellectual stimulation in our society is a serious loss, no matter how much I may disagree with the political opinion being expressed.

I am increasingly coming to the opinion that both the Government and its supporters as well as those who vehemently disagree with the Government need a great deal more political maturity and concern for the general population, particularly those in greatest need. Recently, as I have read those who have applauded the Ministers who have resigned and demeaned those, like Minister El. James who returned, I have wondered who they thought that the Ministers were serving in the first place. To me it is absurd and boarding on being criminal, to be critical of Minister James for returning to Cabinet if he believed that he could bring something to the process of our educational system that no one else could.

When Ministers accept the Ministerial role and the task assigned to them, one assumes it is because they believe they have something to offer the community – and very often they do. The fact that they then resign when they are insulted by the Premier makes one wonder who are they serving in the first place. Is it all of those voters who went to the polls to vote for them or one man, who was elected in exactly the same way that they were. Recent events have been particularly disturbing to me because under this government, it is the black community which was in need of their services.

We frequently hear that this two party system is of a particular disservice to Bermuda because we are sufficiently limited in talented people that to divide them between two parties is a disservice. How much greater disservice is it to the black Community when there are those who essentially say I will not contribute any longer because I have been badly treated by one man– which they undoubtedly were. It is of no small significance that most of those who have so highly praised the "integrity" of those who resigned were enemies of the Government in the first place – and hardly likely to be found among CURB members who are fighting against the remnants of our racist past.

Greater political maturity among politicians and their supporters would mean that there would be much more concern for the least among us and much more credit given to all of us, so that it would be assumed that anyone with intelligence enough to vote for the PLP has enough intelligence not to be swayed by everything that they read. Political maturity would also meant that real "integrity" is demonstrated when politicians remember who voted for them and who they are supposed to be serving in the first place. There would be much more of the concept of service and much less concern for their personal enhancement and the privileges which are due to them. And all of us would do well to remember that we voted for more than one person and we should both expect more from all of them and hold all of them responsible rather than to continue to behave as if only one person is responsible for all that happens politically.

And the Mid-Ocean News did offer some of us the opportunity to think twice about some issues even if we ended by disagreeing with its conclusions. I am sorry to see it go.

EVA N. HODGSON

Hamilton Parish

Getting what we deserve

October 16, 2009

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you in relation to the constant accusations made towards your newspaper and any other institution/individual/organization that criticises this current administration. These accusations include the labelling of the media as being politicised and being part of some mythical "Combined Opposition", "Fox News" equivalent or simply as being plain racist. I understand the thought process behind such attacks as the former PLP Chairman once stated how important it is to define your political opponents when vying for power.

But what really got to me was the results of the PLP sponsored poll which "revealed" that Dr. Brown has a 43 percent approval rating (yes less than half of the electorate support his leadership, but yet the PLP see this as some sort of victory) and stated the following in response, "While the Premier's critics may be louder, more visible and have greater access to media, it's clear that there is a silent plurality in Bermuda who are supportive of the PLP and the Premier."

This got me to thinking about the constant media bias on which this Government persistently blames all their shortcomings and the unfavourable perception that Dr. Brown currently maintains with the electorate. So I checked back into recent RG/MON/BDA SUN articles to verify this overwhelming bias. What I found was interesting. I saw articles, published by these "bastions of white supremacy," from Mr. Calvin Smith, Mr. Alvin Williams, Dr. Eva Hodgson, Mr. David Burt, Mr. Glenn Jones, Mrs. Laverne Furbert, Dr. Brown, and Mr. Rolfe Commissiong among other PLP stalwarts and representatives. These articles varied in their scope, but all came to the ultimate conclusion that the PLP is great/infallible, white people are bad and any opposition are stupid or "haters". These articles were not censored or edited by the publications which these individuals tirelessly rail against as being anti-Bermudian (aka anti-PLP) and biased in their reporting.

Recently the RG has carried extensive coverage of the UBP's demise and their reporting did not attempt to sugar coat the reality of the opposition. Even today the RG printed an article on the group known as "the Bermudians" halting their quest to see Dr. Brown removed due to low turnouts at their functions/rallies. Yet they are still labelled as being part of some anti-Bermudian conspiracy.

However, this freedom of speech does not seem to apply to the actual mouth pieces of the PLP, namely Hate 107.5, the Workers Voice, Magic 98 or the PLP.bm blog. Not once have I seen or heard these propaganda outlets afford space to any sort of PLP opposition. Instead they allow pieces to be printed which compare black UBP members as being no different than, "Nazi war collaborators" (I was appalled at first but when I discovered who the editor was I was far from surprised). During the Southampton by-election Hott 107.5 found air time for Sen. Marc Bean and the ABC representative Mr. Wasi but no time for Mr. Charlie Swan. Lets not forget Sen. Burch's house ni**er comment when a black Bermudian disagreed with him on a 107.5 radio broadcast or when he hung up on a caller once she confirmed that she was white. Oh and don't waste your time trying to refute the spin and sometimes blatant lies spewed on the PLP's official blog. It will never see the light of day.

Once again it is, "do as I say, not as I do" with this administration. So I ask you who really has greater access to the media. But if Bermudians want to continue to dismiss facts, denigrate the credibility of the messenger and buy into spin and lies then you will get what you deserve from your leaders. It appears you already have.

"HATER"

(Thought I would label myself– before the attack dogs do)

Smith's